"Mm… what's going on?"
Woken up by Kurumi's startled shout, Yamauchi Sawa groggily opened her eyes.
She tried to sit up, but her brows knitted.
It hurt a little. Moving wasn't a great idea.
Images from the afternoon replayed in her mind; she remembered everything all at once.
She didn't feel embarrassed—she pressed her lips together, feeling only satisfied.
They'd finally cooked the rice all the way through.
Shichen was really something.
"S-Sawa, you…"
Kurumi's halting voice drifted over.
"…"
Sawa's neck stiffened as she slowly turned toward the sound.
Kurumi stood there in her school uniform, eyes wide in shock.
So it hadn't been a hallucination.
"K-Kurumi…"
Sawa couldn't help glancing at her own bed—completely messy, traces everywhere, the special smell still lingering in the room, and she herself wasn't wearing a single thing.
There was no way to talk her way out of this.
"Sawa, you… did the same thing with Shichen… right?" Kurumi asked, struggling to get the words out.
She might not have experienced it herself, but she wasn't ignorant. Just looking around was enough to know what had happened.
And now she finally understood what Nia and the others had meant.
Her best friend had beaten her to it!
Weren't you the one who said you'd support me first?
How could you sneak off and eat the cake behind my back!
She'd been so excited all day about reuniting with Shichen… and her best friend had already gone ahead and had a practical celebration.
The gap was way too big.
She'd only gotten a kiss!
At most, she'd let him "check her heartbeat" a bit… If she'd known, she would've endured the embarrassment!
"Well… if I said we didn't, would you believe me?" Sawa asked awkwardly.
"...Do you think I would?" Kurumi stared at her blankly.
"Hahaha… yeah, doesn't sound believable."
"You actually did this behind my back… You clearly said you'd support me!" Kurumi was furious.
"What does it matter? Aren't we both Shichen's future wives anyway?" Sawa dropped the pretense and answered openly.
"There still has to be an order!"
"Things like this are first come, first served. You're the one who keeps just being shy all the time. At this rate, who knows what year you'll finally make it happen."
"You—"
"I went first to test how strong Shichen is. He's really something~" Sawa said, savoring the memory, even licking her lips.
"…"
Seeing her like that made Kurumi tremble all over.
"Kurumi, you'd better watch out when it's your turn. Shichen's intense—you definitely won't hold out. I can help you when the time comes."
"I don't need your help!" Kurumi shouted.
"Alright, alright. Just don't come crying to me later."
"I won't!"
"Mm, mm, don't come to me… Ow, looks like I can't get out of bed after all." Sawa tried to climb down, only to find she really couldn't manage it.
So she had overestimated herself. But the excitement inside her just wouldn't settle.
She could only recover slowly.
"…"
Kurumi clenched her fists, trembling.
She really couldn't keep looking at this. She didn't even want to stay in this house anymore.
She'd rushed back worried about her best friend, and what did she find?
A scene that made her want to crawl out of her skin.
And said best friend had not a shred of guilt—she was even this smug about it.
Sure enough, once a man is involved, you can't count on your best friend!
"Ah!" Sawa suddenly cried out.
"What now?"
"Look." Sawa actually tried to show her.
"Get lost!" Kurumi spun away, teeth grinding.
Like she'd look at that.
"Shame," Sawa muttered, glancing down at herself and sighing.
"What are you going to say now?"
"Shichen told me he's not planning on having kids for a while yet."
"You're impossible!"
"But there is an upside," Sawa said cheerfully.
"…"
Kurumi stayed silent.
"In the future, we can skip the protection forever."
"Are you trying to die?!" Kurumi glared at her, completely done.
"Stop talking!" she clapped her hands over her ears, absolutely refusing to hear another word.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Look at how worked up you are." Sawa shook her head as if she were the calm one.
"…"
Kurumi had no words left.
"The bed really is a wreck, though. Feels like there's nowhere to sleep tonight. Kurumi, can I use your bed?" Sawa suddenly asked.
"No!" Kurumi refused without hesitation.
"Eh? Why not? Our friendship's gone that cold?"
"The friendship has cooled, but have you actually looked at yourself? You're covered in… stuff. How could I let you sleep on my bed?" Kurumi shot back, side-eyeing her.
"This is Shichen's essence, you know. You don't want it?" Sawa waggled her brows.
"I want your head!"
"I can go shower."
"Aren't you the one who can't move?"
"I can grit my teeth long enough to take a shower. I'm different now, you know."
"Speaking of which… what's with your hair and hairstyle?" Kurumi finally noticed Sawa's hair color.
When did it become white?
"How is it? Looks good, right?" Sawa asked back.
"It's… alright," Kurumi replied coolly.
"Hmph~ You're definitely jealous of my hair. Shichen really likes white hair."
"…"
"And the style? Don't tell me you picked it so I'd feel 'included' or something."
"Not that far. It just looks like this when I transform."
"Transform?"
"Kurumi, I'm a spirit now too," Sawa admitted.
"Eh?" Kurumi froze.
"What, don't believe me? Can't you feel the spirit power in me?" Sawa tilted her head.
"Wait—what is this spirit power in you? Why is it so strong?" Kurumi finally focused, realizing Sawa's spiritual energy was massive.
Almost on par with her own.
"Hmph~ I told you, I became a spirit too. Shichen helped me~"
"It was Shichen… Was it something you wanted?"
If it was Shichen's doing, Kurumi could accept it instantly.
"Of course. All of you are spirits except me—do you know how depressing that was?" Sawa said without hesitation.
"So that's it…"
Kurumi thought back to how off Sawa had seemed lately. Now it all made sense—she'd been bothered by their difference.
"That's really great, Sawa." Kurumi smiled sincerely for her friend.
"Yeah, it's really great." Sawa smiled happily as well.
"What are you two so happy about?" Shichen walked in at just the right moment, grinning as he asked.
He'd been waiting outside; this wasn't exactly the best time to walk in earlier.
"Shichen~ You're here too~" Sawa waved at him cheerfully, with zero shame.
"Yeah. I brought you something to eat. I'll heal you up again in a bit."
"Shichen's the best~ Love you~ But that can be healed too?" she said, meaningfully.
"Everything except turning things back to how they were," Shichen replied.
"Back… how they were?"
"Next time, there won't be any more bleeding."
"Oh, so that's what you mean… Do you like that, Shichen?" she asked.
"Of course not."
"Good," Sawa said, satisfied.
"...Can you two not talk about this kind of thing?" Kurumi's eye twitched as she cut in, mortified.
"Haha~ Kurumi doesn't want to hear it~" Sawa teased.
"Alright, alright, I'll just heal you first."
"Okay~"
Shichen didn't even go over to the bed; he healed her from where he stood.
With the… "filling" situation the way it was, it really wasn't appropriate to touch her.
In just a few seconds, Sawa felt better.
"Oh~ It really doesn't hurt anymore."
She hopped off the bed and bounced experimentally on her feet.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Kurumi yelled.
"Ah, almost forgot to clean up. Hehe~" Sawa squeezed her legs together, scratching her cheek awkwardly.
"…"
Half an hour later, freshly showered, Sawa was in the living room demolishing her food.
She really was starving; she hadn't eaten anything since noon and had burned through a lot of energy.
Shichen didn't go home immediately. He sat nearby, watching her eat without the slightest restraint.
Honestly, it was kind of cute.
Now Sawa was a pure white-haired beauty, long hair loose down her back—eye-catching and dreamy.
No one could resist a white-haired girl.
"Sawa, you're keeping that hair color?" Kurumi asked from the side.
"Yup. The old color wasn't great. White hair looks more like a spirit."
"...What kind of logic is that?"
"Plus, Shichen really likes it~ Now that I've recovered, how about we continue tonight?" Sawa turned to Shichen with a grin.
"How about you actually rest," Shichen answered.
"Eh~ So you're tired of me already?"
"How could I be? I just want you to take a break first. This kind of thing isn't meant to be done too often."
"I see… Well, there's still Kurumi, isn't there?" Sawa suddenly said.
"Eh?" Kurumi froze.
"Why not let Kurumi keep you company? Kurumi, opportunities like this don't come twice—you know what they say~"
~~~
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